Tyson Summers, a former standout player at Presbyterian College who spent the 2006 season at Georgia Southern, was named to the UAB coaching staff in December, 2006.

Summers, who worked with the Blazer linebackers his first four seasons at UAB, will now coach the UAB safeties. In addition, he will serve as co-special teams coordinator.

Prior to joining the staff at Georgia Southern where he coached the safeties, Summers spent spring and fall 2005 as a graduate assistant coach at Georgia as the Bulldogs won the Southeastern Conference championship and earned a berth in the Sugar Bowl. He worked with the secondary, seeing three UGA defensive backs get drafted: Tim Jennings (second round, First-Team All-SEC), DeMario Minter (First-Team All-SEC) and Greg Blue (First-Team All-American).

During the 2004 season he worked as a graduate assistant coach at Troy as the Trojans played in the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif.

Summers spent the 2003 season at his alma mater, Presbyterian, where he worked as the defensive backs coach. In 2002 Summers returned to his hometown and worked the defensive backs at Tift County HS.

A four-year letterwinner at Presbyterian, Summers comes from a football background as his father was a running back at the University of Florida. Summers earned All-South Atlantic honors as a linebacker in 1999.

The following year, the Blue Hose led the country in takeaways. He was voted team captain his senior year.

Summers earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Presbyterian in 2002.

He is married to the former Beth King of Thomaston, Ga. They have two sons, Jake (2) and Walker (born last spring).